Isaiah

Isaiah Institute Translation

Moab’s prideful people receive three years’ warning before Jehovah destroys them and their land.

1 Send couriers to those who rule in the earth,from Sela in the desertto the mountain of the Daughter of Zion.2 Like fluttering birds forced out of the nest,so are Moab’s women at the fords of Arnon.3 Provide a solution, they say; judge our case!Overshadow us at high noon as though it were night!Shelter those dispossessed;betray not the refugees!4 Let the exiles of Moab dwell with you;be a refuge to them from the aggressors!

When oppressors are no moreand violence has ceased,when tyrants are destroyed from the earth,5 then, in loving kindness,shall a throne be set up in the abode of David,and in faithfulness a judge sit on itwho will maintain justice and expedite righteousness.

6 We have heard of the glories of Moab,of its excessive pride and its boasting,of its outbursts of false propaganda.7 For this shall the Moabites be made to lament,and all have cause to bewail Moab:they shall groan at the ruin of Kir Haresethin utter dejection.

8 For the vineyards of Heshbon shall wither;the ruling nations will smite Sibmah’s vines.Its runner vines reached Jazer,trailing through the desert;its branches spread abroad across the sea.9 Therefore I will mourn as Jazer mournsfor the vines of Sibmah;I will water you with my tears,O Heshbon and Elealeh,when your shouts of cheerover the summer fruit and harvest are stilled.10 The joyful festivity will be gone from the orchards;no shouts of delight shall sound in the vineyards.The wine treaders will tread no wine in the presses;the vintage shout I will bring to an end.

11 My breast will vibrate like a harp for Moab,my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.12 For when the Moabites weary themselveswith petitioning on the hill shrines,and enter their sanctuaries to pray,it shall be to no avail.

13 These things Jehovah spoke hitherto about Moab.14 But now Jehovah has said, Within three years, as the term of a lease, Moab’s glory shall become ignominy. For all its large populace there shall be very few left, and those of no account.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the Lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

8

For the vineyards of Heshbon shall wither;the ruling nations will smite Sibmah’s vines.Its runner vines reached Jazer,trailing through the desert;its branches spread abroad across the sea.

And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.

10

The joyful festivity will be gone from the orchards;no shouts of delight shall sound in the vineyards.The wine treaders will tread no wine in the presses;the vintage shout I will bring to an end.

This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.

13

These things Jehovah spoke hitherto about Moab.

זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֶל־מוֹאָב מֵאָז ׃

But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

14

But now Jehovah has said, Within three years, as the term of a lease, Moab’s glory shall become ignominy. For all its large populace there shall be very few left, and those of no account.

Apocalyptic Commentary

Moab’s prideful people receive three years’ warning before Jehovah destroys them and their land.

1 Send couriers to those who rule in the earth,from Sela in the desertto the mountain of the Daughter of Zion.2 Like fluttering birds forced out of the nest,so are Moab’s women at the fords of Arnon.3 Provide a solution, they say; judge our case!Overshadow us at high noon as though it were night!Shelter those dispossessed;betray not the refugees!4 Let the exiles of Moab dwell with you;be a refuge to them from the aggressors!

When oppressors are no moreand violence has ceased,when tyrants are destroyed from the earth,

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

blue

(16:1–4)

As the type of a kindred people with a sense of entitlement, the Moabites, who form a part of Isaiah’s Greater Babylon, look to others to alleviate the woes they have brought on themselves by their own actions or inactions. Reduced to refugee status, they want someone to cover their sins and care for them. Parallel lines—“to those who rule in the earth” and “to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion”—imply that the Moabites are appealing for help to Jehovah’s people in Zion who have now come into their own. The reference to Moab’s “women” may be both literal and figurative (cf. Isaiah 3:12; 19:16).

4 Let the exiles of Moab dwell with you;be a refuge to them from the aggressors!

When oppressors are no moreand violence has ceased,when tyrants are destroyed from the earth,5 then, in loving kindness,shall a throne be set up in the abode of David,and in faithfulness a judge sit on itwho will maintain justice and expedite righteousness.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

blue

(16:4–5)

The answer to the Moabites’ plight isn’t a temporary refuge from Assyria’s aggression or relief from covenant curses. It is the establishment of a government that administers justice and righteousness. By bringing things to a head in his Day of Judgment, Jehovah puts an end to man’s tyranny of man and replaces it with a theocracy in which Israel’s God rules. Jehovah’s “loving kindness” signifies his millennial covenant with his end-time son and servant, ancient David’s heir (Isaiah 55:3). The term “judge” identifies both Jehovah and his servant—Jehovah’s righteousness (Isaiah 2:4; 11:3-4; 41:2; 51:5).

6 We have heard of the glories of Moab,of its excessive pride and its boasting,of its outbursts of false propaganda.7 For this shall the Moabites be made to lament,and all have cause to bewail Moab:they shall groan at the ruin of Kir Haresethin utter dejection.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

blue

(16:6–7)

Moab’s self-exaltation—like that of Greater Babylon—inevitably leads to humiliation in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment: “The haughty eyes of men shall be lowered and man’s pride abased; Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. Jehovah of Hosts has a day in store for all the proud and arrogant and for all who are exalted, that they may be brought low” (Isaiah 2:11-12). Rather than look down on the Moabites and glory at their fall, Jehovah’s people weep for them and deeply sorrow at their plight (vv 9, 11). They were a kindred people who lived alongside them, with whom Jehovah’s people interacted.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

blue

(16:8)

When the Assyrian alliance of nations destroys Greater Babylon, agriculture undergoes a dearth as typified by withering “vines” and “vineyards” (Isaiah 24:7; 42:15). Jehovah’s people who return to Zion in a new wandering in the wilderness, on the other hand, experience the opposite: “Then shall a Spirit from on high be poured out on us; the desert shall become productive land and lands now productive be reckoned as brushwood” (Isaiah 32:15). The idea of vines that “spread abroad across the sea” alludes to the interdependence of all parts of Greater Babylon’s economic empire (Isaiah 23:7-8, Isaiah 23:7-8, 11; 47:5; 47:5).

9 Therefore I will mourn as Jazer mournsfor the vines of Sibmah;I will water you with my tears,O Heshbon and Elealeh,when your shouts of cheerover the summer fruit and harvest are stilled.10 The joyful festivity will be gone from the orchards;no shouts of delight shall sound in the vineyards.The wine treaders will tread no wine in the presses;the vintage shout I will bring to an end.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

blue

(16:9–10)

A reversal of circumstances between Zion and Greater Babylon marks Jehovah’s Day of Judgment. Although the “summer fruit and harvest” denotes the most joyous time of the year, that joy turns to gloom as Moab, which formerly enjoyed prosperity, now lies in ruins. Jehovah’s elect, on the other hand—who suffered gloom prior to Jehovah’s Day of Judgment—now experience joy: “Jehovah is comforting Zion, bringing solace to all her ruins; he is making her wilderness like Eden, her desert as the garden of Jehovah. Joyful rejoicing takes place there, thanksgiving with the voice of song” (Isaiah 51:3).

11 My breast will vibrate like a harp for Moab,my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.12 For when the Moabites weary themselveswith petitioning on the hill shrines,and enter their sanctuaries to pray,it shall be to no avail.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

blue

(16:11–12)

Repentance comes too late to avoid catastrophe for this fraternal people. Now they must endure the hardships of that evil time as a consequence of wickedness until their iniquities are purged. Still, those who love all of God’s children loathe to see others suffer and are profoundly moved at Moab’s belated penitence (Isaiah 15:2-3). They know that Jehovah readily hears those who love him, whose hearts are right with him: “O people of Zion, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall have no cause to weep. He will graciously respond at the cry of your voice; he will answer you as soon as he hears it” (Isaiah 30:19).

13 These things Jehovah spoke hitherto about Moab.14 But now Jehovah has said, Within three years, as the term of a lease, Moab’s glory shall become ignominy. For all its large populace there shall be very few left, and those of no account.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who exemplifies faithfulness in fulfilling his covenants and promises to his people and who establishes among them his millennial reign of peace.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, who exemplifies righteousness to Jehovah's people and the nations, whose throne Jehovah establishes when he comes to reign.

blue

(16:13–14)

Moab’s three-year lease of time in which to mend its ways applies to Greater Babylon in general. In his long-suffering, Jehovah sends the world three years of warning through his servant before his Day of Judgment commences (Isaiah 20:1-6). Then, in a long-awaited reversal of circumstances, Greater Babylon’s glory turns to ignominy while Zion’s ignominy turns to glory (Isaiah 47:1; 52:1-3). Although Greater Babylon comprises a majority of the world’s population, it boasts of no righteous surviving remnant (Isaiah 13:19; 14:22; 21:9). The few souls of Moab who remain alive aren’t noteworthy.